Abstract:

It can be often perceived that our everyday aesthetic experience produces grief which is of independent aesthetic value with no need to be transformed into pleasure. Firstly, this kind of grief stirred up in aesthetic experience is non-utilitarian. It is not a tangible physical pain, nor does it originate from the hurt of the object’s existence to our lives. Secondly, the grief is pure, purposeless, non-conceptual and irrelevant to value judgment, arising directly from our inner feelings. Thirdly, it is also absolute, uncaused, unconditional, yet universal and even metaphysical. Such non-utilitarian, pure, absolute grief can be called “free grief”, as opposed to “free pleasure” deduced by Kant. There are two modalities of aesthetics with one seeking after free pleasure and the other free grief. The former allows us to pursue spiritual liberation and experience freedom, while the latter permits us to strive for individual spiritual affirmation and awakening so as to return to the self. The free self is perhaps the common destination of these two modalities of aesthetics.

Key words: aesthetics, grief, free pleasure, free grief